American President "Barack Obama" said today that the leaks by Edward Snowden had caused "unnecessary damage" to U.S intelligence capabilities.

Obama refused to be drawn at a year-end press conference on the possibility of amnesty or a presidential pardon for the fugitive IT contractor, who has been indicted on espionage charges , noting that "as important and as necessary as this debate has been, it is also important to keep in mind that this has done unnecessary damage to US intelligence capabilities and U.S diplomacy".